The invention relates to hover control systems for submersible buoys.
Conventional control systems frequently utilize an externally generated signal to transfer a pressurized buoyant fluid from a fluid storage chamber to a buoyancy chamber, the buoyancy chamber containing water to be displaced by the buoyant fluid. These systems are adequate for locating the buoy at a predetermined depth but are not readily adaptable for automatic depth adjustment because of weight changes due to loss of the buoyant fluid. In order to effect an automatic transfer of buoyant fluid to a buoyancy chamber in order to maintain hovering at a predetermined depth, other conventional control systems sense the level of water in the buoyancy chamber and maintain an appropriate level for the depth being desired. These systems typically use analog measuring techniques, or flood the buoyancy chamber with buoyancy fluid for a predetermined time when a predetermined depth is reached. Such systems tend to excessively oscillate about the predetermined depth and thus are wasteful of the buoyancy fluid. The hover control system of the present invention solves the above problems by providing a simplified control system that responds only to predetermined water levels within the buoyancy chamber and depth of the buoy as measured by a water pressure transducer.